Beginning in San Francisco
by hamgsrship
Summary: It all began in San Francisco; the friendship, the attraction, the electricity, the blatant desire. Will turn to M rating in a few chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sara trudged along the hallway. Why did she sign up for this lecture? Because it was required—that's why. She sighed heavily and pushed the door open, noticing once she got inside that there was something trailing down the back of her leg, tickling it and aggravating her. She stopped mid-stride and tried to look behind herself to see what was brushing against the bottoms of her thighs, and in so doing she turned herself in a circle in front of the class. Her mind really wasn't on the younger students, who at 18 and 20 seemed so immature to her that she was practically embarrassed to be seen in the company of them. She was much more concerned with whatever it was that was trailing down the back of her and touching her leg. She turned right and could see nothing, then took a step and felt the tickle of it again. She turned left and still saw nothing. Damn! This time she bent over and started swiping her hand at the back of her denim shorts until she finally felt the fray that was a bit longer than the rest and was causing all the irritation. She gave it a tug and succeeded in nearly tearing her finger off for her effort.

"Damn!"

She pulled her finger away from the cotton string and put it in her mouth where she immediately relieved the minor pain by running her damp tongue over it. She reached for it again and tugged harder, this time being rewarded with the sound of more than just a simple thread tearing. She had managed to rip her pants. This noise brought several giggles from some girls sitting in the front row of the classroom and did nothing for her discomfort at being in their company in the first place. She stood erect and looked at the three girls who were pompously laughing at her. Barbie dolls! All of them! She was reminded of the "Brittany Club" on that old cartoon called "Recess;" a club of rich, over-dressed, snobs who were just oozing with female hormones that they wore like some kind of perfume to attract the male sex and ward off any other female who didn't appear to be up to their standards of what a female should be. Fucking cheerleaders! All three of them! The final straw occurred when she watched how they looked at her and whispered giggled insults behind their hands.

"Problem?" She asked them through grit teeth.

"Are you talking to me?" The boldest one, evidently the leader of the trio, asked Sara with a condescending smile. "I'm sorry but I couldn't understand your mumble."

"I said, do you got a fuckin' . . .," she started but stopped when she noticed how the three girls straightened in their seats and their eyes widened as they looked beyond her as if seeing something that they needed to be on their best behavior for; some kind of a wonderful treat that they were hoping to achieve.

"Don't move," came the quiet voice from immediately behind her and she felt the tug of the string she had been trying to remove, then heard the "snip" and felt the string being cut from her pants.

She swung around to see a curly-haired gentleman holding the offending piece of thread before giving her a small smile, then turned and went back to the front of the room, depositing the string in the waste can on his way to returning the scissors to a drawer in the oversized desk. This brought immediate giggles from the three girls and made the color rise in Sara's cheeks. She didn't know if she wanted to storm out of the room in embarrassment or turn around and deck the three morons behind her. Instead, she squinted her eyes in thought as she looked more closely at the man who was now sorting through index cards at the podium.

"Is this. . ." Sara looked at the schedule in her hands then back to the man at the front of the class. "Dr. Grissom's lecture?"

"Hmm," he answered without looking up immediately, but when the girls went into a giggling fit again, he relented and looked at Sara. "Yes. I'm Dr. Grissom. And you are?"

"Sidle," Sara said more quietly this time, her discomfort at being there growing. "Sara Sidle. I was assigned to come here. . ."

"Sidle—yes, I remember now. You were assigned by your supervisor. I always look forward to my unconventional students," he said as if she were the only person in the room with him while at the same time keeping his focus on his cards. "They tend to take the class more seriously. I can communicate on a different level with them than kids fresh out of high school. Please—take a seat."

She nodded, noticing that the giggling stopped behind her and when she turned around she saw how they were looking at her as if she had grown two heads. Sara smirked at the girls as she started to walk past them but Dr. Grissom's voice stopped her.

"There's a seat here, Sara. Why don't you take that one?"

Sara glanced back at the man and noted that he was talking about a seat much closer to his podium and in the front row, but on the other side of the room than the three over-enthusiastic wanna-be teacher's pets. She gave him another nod then turned and went to the seat he indicated. Before she sat down she looked back in the direction of the others and saw their expressions of complete horror. She knew they were not used to being ignored by anyone, particularly a young male, and the fact that he came to Sara's defense confused the hell out of them.

Sara's brow knit in confusion as well. What the hell did he come to her defense for, anyway? And the more she thought about it—he most definitely was a "young" male! He wasn't what she had been warned about—an older man who was exceptionally boring. She dared a glance up at him and although he was wearing glasses for reading over his cards, he seemed only slightly older than she. By the look of him, he must only be about thirty—very young for the credentials he had.

The more she looked at him, the more she decided that he most definitely wasn't hard to look at! He was rather attractive in a boyish sort of way. And she couldn't help feeling a certain amount of fondness for the way he came to her defense, albeit rather unobtrusively, but still!

Then he glanced up at her and gave her a slanted smile. Her mouth dropped open then she smiled back. Those eyes! She had never seen eyes that had drawn her into them as quickly or as deeply as they did and she felt the overwhelming urge to make sure that they never strayed far from her again! He was divine!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Gil Grissom stood at the window of the small lecture hall pondering on just why he was there. He was forty-one years old with a firm hold on a career as a crime scene investigator in Las Vegas and just because some renowned professor of Anthropology invited him to come and lecture in San Francisco, he jumped at the chance. It wasn't because he was eager to get back to teaching. He had become a little disgruntled with that in the past, and the reasons were "giggling" directly behind him. He hated when he wanted to share his knowledge with young minds and they couldn't seem to see past their own mirrors, mainly because the intelligence wasn't there to allow them to focus on anything other than their own reflections.

"Dr. Grissom?" A blonde girl called to him from where she was gathered with an auburn-haired and a raven-haired beauty. "Did I need to bring anything to prepare for my session with you today?"

The other girls giggled again, evidently finding their leader extremely hilarious until he looked over his shoulder at them and they tried to stifle their laughter. "Your session?"

"Yes," the young girl almost cooed at him, putting on a Marilyn Monroe pout as she looked at him. "Our time together. I always like to be "prepared." Maybe have a little "protection" in case further testing is required."

Ah, yes. . .the girl was trying to be provocative and was simply coming across as . . . well, idiotic. So, he turned his body completely toward them as he looked into her eyes.

"And would your friends be needing further testing as well?" He asked quietly.

The blonde leader swallowed, licked her lips, then without checking for her friends' responses answered him. "If you prefer it that way."

"Then I suggest you run out to the University Store and grab yourself some protection—like maybe a notebook and something to write with. And now that you've brought up testing, I'll keep that in mind when I hand out what was going to be a worksheet. I think you're right, perhaps it ought to be considered a test and be worth 25% of your grade in Anthropology."

He watched as the girl seemed to deflate before his very eyes then turn quickly to the black-haired participant in their group, "Give me some paper from your notebook! And a pencil!"

He turned back toward the window when the girls took their seats and they soon were forgotten again when he saw the tall brunette hurrying toward the building. She got midway across the grassy lawn when she bumped into a male student going in the other direction and her knapsack was knocked off her shoulder. The male paused as if he had more important things to do, then saw the girl and knelt immediately to pick up her things. Grissom watched as the boy attempted to charm her with a smile and conversation but the girl kept looking toward the doorway to the building in an attempt to ease away from him. Finally, the girl gave him a smile that competed with the brightness of the sun. Grissom had never seen a smile as bright or as infectious as the one he was witnessing on the other side of the window. He couldn't stop the smile that was tugging at his lips just from watching her. When she turned back toward him, he noticed she was wearing sunglasses but still she shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked at the name of the building as if to make sure it was the correct destination. With her hand raised like that, it gave him a perfect view of her slender body, quite adequate breasts, long throat, well defined arms and legs that seemed to go on forever before disappearing inside an old pair of sneakers. By God, she was enchanting! Now, if he'd only get students like that one! Then he'd be a little more excited about being here. He watched as she disappeared inside the building then he sighed heavily and went back to his desk to pick up his index cards and go through them.

"Dr. Grissom," came that voice that was already beginning to irritate him. "I got that "protection" we were discussing," she tried to sound provocative again but sounded moronic to him as he looked up to see her holding up an 11 x 14 inch piece of legal-sized paper. "Do you think it's "big" enough?"

This, of course, turned the other girls into an instant fit of giggles. He was about to suggest that with the clearly minimal amount of space in her mind she might require the whole tablet to jot down the notes so she could remember them, but the sight of his "dream-student" walking through his doorway stopped all thought of the three imbeciles in the front row. The brunette glanced around the room and when she let her eyes travel over him, the sight of those dark chocolate orbs stunned him and the next thing he knew, his well organized stack of index cards were now spread out upon the desktop where he had dropped them. He grabbed at them and tried to pick them up but by now they were in complete disarray. He was about to put them back in their proper sequence when he noticed how she was stopped in the middle of the floor and turning this way and that. The sound of the other girls' laughter pissed Grissom off. He knew what was happening. The others could feel the strength of this girl's intelligence. It reached out and taunted them like a high-pitched dog whistle alerts dogs; something that someone of any intelligence cannot immediately pick up, but if they are lacking in that department, they can not only pick up on it, but actually get irritated and critical of it. He could see it in the maliciousness of the three girls' eyes as they watched her wearing denim shorts and a tank top. Grissom looked at how her neck showed behind her hair that was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail and he had the sudden urge to reach out and touch it.

He watched as the girl bent down and was swiping at something at the back of her legs, then he saw the problem as she grabbed onto a long piece of string and he understood her dilemma. It was tickling her leg and she wouldn't rest until it was taken care of. When she injured her finger and stuck it in her mouth Grissom felt a sudden bolt of intense desire rush straight to his groin and he was shocked by it! Jesus Christ! All of that just from watching her put her finger in her mouth! That was when he heard the other girls start their barb with her and he wouldn't put up with it. She was too much their superior to be made to feel any less. Without thinking, he grabbed the scissors on his desk top and moved up behind her. The giggling stopped as he instructed her to not move lest she back up into the pointed tool. Then he snipped off the problematic source of her irritation, taking a great appreciation of the fact that her denim shorts were a wonderfully tight fit and showcased her pert bottom to perfection. God, but he only had to reach out and grab onto those two globes and. . . She turned around and looked at him in surprise and he was rewarded with a closer look at her face.

Jesus! Those eyes! The shape of her lips! Her face in general was absolute perfection. He let his eyes drop ever so briefly down over her throat and the tops of her breasts and he could feel his breath still until he forced himself to turn back toward his desk and put the scissors away. Christ, he couldn't spend the rest of the lecture just staring at her cleavage, could he?

His notes! That's right. He had to arrange his notes that he had dropped upon sight of her.

"Is this. . ." the girl looked at the schedule in her hands then back to Grissom. "Dr. Grissom's lecture?"

"Hmm," he answered without looking up immediately, but when the girls went into a giggling fit again, he felt his irritation with them growing. "Yes. I'm Dr. Grissom. And you are?"

"Sidle," Sara said more quietly this time. "Sara Sidle. I was assigned to come here. . ."

"Sidle—yes, I remember now. You were assigned by your supervisor. I always look forward to my unconventional students," he said as he tried to remain focused on his cards. He didn't have much time before beginning and he hated being unprepared. Not that he couldn't do the lecture without the notes—but he felt more secure knowing they were there if he needed them. "They tend to take the class more seriously. I can communicate on a different level with them than kids fresh out of high school. Please—take a seat." She nodded and turned around to go toward the back of the room and Grissom saw how the other girls were looking at her with blatant jealousy. He could only imagine that they saw she had a natural beauty they would never process and if they did, it wouldn't last much longer than their youth. He couldn't allow them to dictate where she was going to be in his class—so he decided to help the situation along somewhat. "There's a seat here, Sara. Why don't you take that one?"

Sara glanced back at him as he nodded toward a seat closer to him. She gave him another nod and her brow knit in confusion as she took her seat and he could see that she wasn't used to men stepping in to defend her honor. That—he could not understand other than the fact that she seemed very self-sufficient and probably took care of her honor very nicely on her own. He glanced at her again and couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips. He watched as her

mouth opened then she smiled back. Jesus! There was that smile again! And this time the small gap between those gorgeous white teeth didn't escape him. Immediate thoughts of those teeth scraping across his. . . No! He couldn't afford to think about that! He had to make it through this lecture and several more over the next few days. He didn't want to be side-tracked by a quick infatuation that would make him lose all credibility as a speaker. No, he had better concentrate on the subject at hand—but damn! She was divine!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

He was interesting! She had no idea what her peers were referring to—old and boring! Bah! He's young, he's gorgeous, he's vital, he's captivating—he's anything but boring! She watched him go through his lecture with ease, only showing any sign of faltering when he would glance at either the three "daughters from hell" on the other side of the room or at her. She wondered what he saw in the other three and immediately felt herself cringing when she looked down at her appearance. Of all days! Why did she oversleep today? Granted, she wasn't in the habit of dressing up for events such as this—but she definitely would have applied a little mascara, maybe a little lip gloss. She definitely would have done something with her hair! And her shirt! Jeez, it was so small it made her look twenty pounds fatter than she actually was! Damn! Compared to the other three, it's no wonder he keeps looking in their direction!

She glanced down at the worksheet that had been handed out and wondered if it were some kind of a joke. He had mentioned that it would be a test score—but he gave them all the answers. A majority of them she already knew, but if you had half a brain and listened to him, listened to his voice that was doing the most amazing things to her, he would give you the answers you needed!

"Excuse me, Dr. Griiiissssssom," crooned the blonde muttonhead. "Could you go over number twenty-four again?"

"Is there anyone else who would like to go over the sheet?" Grissom asked as he looked around the rest of the class. There were a few grumbles from those who didn't quite get what he was talking about but most people just wanted to get out of there and head to their next class or go home for the day. Sara watched as everyone started to file out of the room, depositing their papers on the desk as they went; everyone, that is, except the three bimbos who made a beeline straight for Grissom. Grissom looked at his paper and glanced up at the blonde. "Shannon, the question is, "The widely used name for larvae left behind by the musca domestica is. . .?"

"Muuusca domesti?" Shannon's blonde eyebrows knit together in complete confusion.

"We were discussing the "musca domestica" for nearly half an hour. Were you here at that portion of the lecture?"

"Of course I was here! But I was thinking of. . .other things," she gushed at him. "Much more important things than larvae of dusca momesti."

Sara looked around to see that by now, other than herself, who was slowly putting her things in her knapsack, the three girls were the only ones still in the room as they surrounded Dr. Grissom. Grissom rubbed his hand over his forehead and glanced at the other girls.

"Do either of you know the answer? Tiffany?"

The raven-haired girl chuckled at him. "Of course not—or we wouldda told her what the answer was."

"Kimberly?" Grissom asked hopefully as Sara slowly made her way toward the desk, but received only a shrug of her shoulders. "None of you were paying attention?"

"We were. . .listening! We were! It's just. . .we got a bit side-tracked," Tiffany told him.

Shannon put her paper on the top of the pile of other papers, clearly disregarding whether she knew the answer or not and this prompted the other girls to do the same. "Dr. Grissom, it's a very hot afternoon, and I know of a fantastic club in town. Come along with us! I can show you around and by the end of the night. . ." Her eyes suggested the completion of her sentence.

"Um, no," Grissom said as he started packing his things to go. "I don't drink."

"You don't have to drink to have a good time with me, Dr. Grissom. And like you suggested before, the three of us can be more than obliging when it comes to entertaining someone from out of town."

"Thank you, but I'm not allowed to fraternize with the students."

"Who'd know?" She asked and the three girls giggled. "We certainly wouldn't tell anyone."

"The widely used name for larvae left behind by the musca domestica, or the common house fly, is known as maggots," Sara said as she reached through the group of girls to give Grissom her paper. "which hatch from the eggs within a day after the fly lays them and they remain in the larval stage for up to a week."

"Yes," Grissom breathed as he reached for her paper and their fingers slid across each other.

Sara felt a jolt like she had never experienced before. She had been prepared to simply hand in her worksheet then make her escape and let Grissom to the wolves that were going to massacre him. But when she felt that electricity flow through them and she quickly looked up to see the smile in his blue eyes as he looked at her, she suddenly felt as if she were the only person in the room with him.

"Excuse me!" Shannon interrupted. "We were having a discussion here!"

Suddenly she felt the need to make sure this man didn't leave with any of these pythons. He was going to leave with her if it was the last thing she did. She didn't even know where the questions started coming from, or how she worked up the nerve to ask them. It was almost as if some other being stepped into her body and instructed what to say and wouldn't allow her to give up. She stood there listening to his answers and faintly remembered Kimberly shrugging her shoulders and walking out of the classroom. Two questions later, Tiffany sighed deeply and departed, and by the end of four more questions Sara was leaning against the desk as Grissom moved to stand next to her to better explain his theories. Shannon opened her mouth to interject, but was side-tracked when Grissom put his hand up in a sign to let him finish his conversation with Sara, making the blonde girl leave in a huff.

Sara wasn't sure if Grissom was aware of this going on around them, but she "was" aware of the questions that kept bubbling from her as soon as he finished explaining the last one. Finally, she blurted out, "Would you like to go to dinner? I mean—I mean, I'd love to talk more about this, but I didn't have lunch today and I'm getting kinda hungry. Maybe we could go to a crab shack or something?"

She looked at how Grissom's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "I'd like that. Do you mind if I go home and change clothes though? I can understand if you'd rather go without me, if you're that hungry, but I really need to freshen up."

"Yeah," she chuckled self-consciously. "Me too."

"No. You look wonderful. I—on the other hand, look like a professor who has been giving lectures all day." He grabbed his things and started for the door where he stood and held it open for her, then started down the hall with her. "If you don't mind, we could stop at my place while I change clothes, and go from there."

"Sure," she said, not believing her luck. "That sounds great."

The conversation never seemed to lag as he drove her to his hotel and they walked up to his rooms. There always seemed to be something to talk about whether it be the mummification of a body or the preferences between crabs or clams. Once inside, she waited patiently on the sofa as he went into his bedroom and made a quick change into a pair of sneakers, jeans and a blue button-down shirt that he had rolled up to the elbow and opened at the top three buttons. God, he even looked better than he did in the classroom!

"Shall we go?"

He placed his hand on the small of her back as they went to his car then on to a rustic crab shack where they ordered two meals of the crustaceans and again started conversations that bounced around from subject to subject. He had the uncanny ability to sit there, cracking crabs and dipping the meat in butter, and still look calm, cool and sophisticated, while she, on the other hand, could feel herself working up a sweat as she cracked the sometimes uncooperative shells and managed to dribble the butter down her arms and chin at almost every conceivable moment. And yet, whenever she would look up at him, he didn't seem repulsed by her less than ladylike behavior. She would've suspected that her tomboy-characteristics would be a turn off to a man like him. Although she couldn't see him with any of the oversexed bimbos that were in his classroom that day, she "could" see him with a woman of grace whose table manners didn't quite compare to a drunken pirate! No, she could see him with a woman who would never suggest a crab shack. Lobster would be more to her liking. And the mug of beer that she was nursing would definitely be out of the question; fine wine and nothing but the best.

Maybe she was reading this all wrong, she thought as she attempted to crack the leg of an unfortunate crab and watched as it shot out of her fingers and land on the table next to theirs.

"Oops," she said quietly as she looked at the older couple sitting there, then she got up and moved over, bending as she picked the crab off the woman's plate. "I—uh—um-I'll just take this with me."

She sat down, embarrassment coloring her cheeks as the couple snickered at her. She chanced a look at her date for the night and saw how he was sitting there watching her with the slightest of smiles on his face. Suddenly she found the whole situation completely absurd! Imagine! Him being attracted to someone like her! He clearly just wanted a night out to enjoy a good meal and felt comfortable with her—almost as if going out with one of the boys. Well, if that was how she was going to share his company, then so be it. She'd just relax and "be one of the boys." So, picking up her mug of beer, she held it up to him in a toast.

"To flying crabs!" She watched as he slowly lifted his mug and touched hers.

"May they always land on someone's dish as understanding as this," he said graciously as he looked at the older couple, and they responded with amused smiles.

Sara cracked up though as she watched how serious he was and soon he was smiling at her as he watched her laugh. He was so goddamned charming that he made her insides do flip-flops every time she looked at him and if the only way she could keep contact with him was to be nonthreatening, then she'd be as nonthreatening as she could manage!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Grissom sat at the table watching this woman across from him. She enchanted him with her knowledge of any subject he happened to be talking about and as she moved her hands animatedly with enthusiasm, he couldn't have been more flattered. The longer they stayed at this restaurant, the warmer it became and he had an excellent view of the sweat that was beginning to glisten on her arms and chest. As she spoke, he watched a bead of it roll down between her breasts and he felt himself tighten immediately. His eyes followed the descent of the perspiration, imagining his tongue following it as well. He let his mind wander to the possibility of running his hands over those well toned arms of hers, sliding over the sweat and pulling her against him, between his legs, pushing the straps of her shirt over her shoulders and exposing those glorious mounds that had his mouth watering. He would pull her nipple between his waiting lips, suckle it, nip at it, and have her moaning her desire to have him move his mouth lower.

When he'd watch some of the butter drip down her chin, he ached to reach across the table and wipe his fingers over it or better yet, simply place his mouth against her skin and clean it in a more satisfying way.

Just then he watched as the crab she had been trying to crack flew into the air and landed on the plate of an older woman a few feet away. The expression on Sara's face was priceless! He couldn't believe it as she slowly got up and apologetically retrieved her wandering crab then took her seat again. Up until then, her mannerisms had his body responding in ways he shouldn't be, but the toast to flying crabs won his heart. She was completely captivating.

"I thought you weren't allowed to fraternize with the students," Sara said as she and Grissom walked down the boutique-lined street next to the harbor.

He shrugged with a smile touching his lips. "Technically, you're not a student. I mean, this is only a lecture for you, and I'm only a speaker. I don't know if they have any rules against spending time with . . ."

"Unconventional students," she supplied for him, wearing that smile that was beginning to do the most wonderful things to him. He could become mesmerized by that smile. "Yeah, I know. You're polite way of saying I'm "old!"

"Old," he sniffed. "What are you? All of twenty?"

"Twenty years old with a degree in physics and training as a CSI? I'd have to be a super-genius to have achieved that by the age of twenty. And believe me, I'm no super-genius." She glanced up at him bashfully then added. "I'll be twenty-six in two weeks."

He nodded his head in understanding as they continued walking. "I would've never suspected. I mean, you look so young—and I could easily see you falling into the "super-genius" category."

"Hardly," she snickered at him. "but you, on the other hand. You've really accomplished a lot for your age."

"Maybe. But forty-one isn't too out of tune with my credentials."

She stopped and looked at him with her brows knit together and he felt a flash of disappointment; perhaps she thought him too old?

"You're kidding? Right?"

"No," he smiled at her. "I'm forty-one."

"No, I mean, thinking that all you've done is normal for your age. You're quite accomplished, ya know?"

His smile broadened. "Oh. I thought you meant. . ."

"Your age?" She shrugged her shoulders as they continued to walk. "You certainly don't "look" forty-one, either. I thought you were much closer to my age—thirty—thirty-five, maybe."

"Is that bad?"

"That you look young for your age? I don't think so."

"No, that I'm older than you thought."

"Well, is it a problem for you? That I'm older than "you" thought?"

"Definitely not," he smiled. "I'm glad you're not only twenty."

"Especially since I was drinking back at the crab shack, huh? Not legal yet?" She looked up at him quickly. "Hey! I thought you told that girl that you didn't drink."

"I lied." His eyes crinkled as he looked at her and she laughed at him then took his hand and pulled him across the street toward a photo booth. "Wait, no."

"Come on, it'll be fun. Something to remember me by," she chuckled and he looked at her hesitantly. He wasn't a fan of getting his picture taken but. . .if she wanted it. . . He moved inside and got the quarters out of his pocket but just before he put them in she told him to wait and she pulled her pony tail out of her hair and ran her fingers through it. She shrugged her shoulders then smiled into the camera. "Oh well, can't make it any worse."

"You look lovely," he said as he looked over at her then back just in time for the flash to go off. He started to get out but she squeezed his thigh.

"No, wait. There's another one!"

Her hand successfully stopped him but it also successfully sent a jolt through him so strongly that he nearly doubled over from it. He looked over at her and knew he had better be careful. He wasn't in the habit of seducing young girls who he knew he was going to leave in a matter of days but he had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't going to leave this town unscathed. Oh well, he thought as she took his hand and exited the booth with him again. He was an adult, more than capable of controlling himself in this type of situation. They'd be fine. After all, how much trouble could he get into in a matter of four days?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sara stretched the sleep out of her body as the morning sun shone through her bedroom windows. Everything seemed bright and alive. "She" seemed bright and alive. She glanced at her nightstand and saw the picture that had been taken the night before. "That" was why she felt bright and alive. She reached for the picture for a closer examination and sighed. My God, but he was an incredibly sexy man. The old Pointer Sisters song "He's So Shy," came to mind immediately and she smiled. He was so quiet and seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. When he did speak, it was in such an amazingly soothing voice. God, just the thought of it sent chills through her.

She thought about how they had walked along the pier after their picture was taken then they went in town and did some window shopping there as well. By the time they finished their excursion down that street she was yawning and he suggested he take her home but when she hesitated, he reminded her that she was to attend another seminar in the morning. She didn't tell him that she had actually thought about cancelling until she met him and discovered just how appealing his lectures were. She actually had called work and told them she was going to forfeit the remaining two lectures in favor of returning to work. She'd have to call them again and let them know she reconsidered and would be attending the Grissom lectures after all.

Their walk back to his car had been quiet and the ride had been even quieter. She told him she must be more tired than she thought, but the truth was, now that she was spending time with him, she feared she just might be falling head over heels in love with him. She wasn't an easy conquest by any means. She rarely opened her heart to anyone before this, and when she did, she didn't really become involved in a physical relationship. This is the reason why she had become labeled the "Ice Princess" in her circle.

But she didn't care. All she could think about was how he drove her back to her car which was still in the university parking lot. She opened her door and got out of his car and he joined her.

"So, I . . .really enjoyed myself this afternoon and evening," he told her.

"I'm glad!" She smiled brightly at him. "I'd hate to think that I isolated you this entire time and bored you to tears."

"No," he chuckled. "You definitely are not boring. Especially while eating crab."

"Oh," she flushed. "a bit messy, huh?"

"Delightfully so. You made the experience all that much more enjoyable. It certainly made me hungry for the succulent meat after seeing how you would take such delight in experiencing it."

"By experiencing it, do you mean "wearing it—as in the butter that I had all over my arms and chin" or "flinging it across the room at an old lady?"

He chuckled at her again and reached up to wipe his thumb across the corner of her mouth. When she looked at him he showed her the remains of glistening butter, then he stuck it in his mouth and licked it. She felt herself go weak clear to her toes.

"Your vigorous enjoyment of the butter was what made me want to. . ." He dropped his gaze from hers. "Well, we won't go there tonight. Let's just say you made me envious of the crab."

Again! Mush straight to her toes! "Well, I. . .I. . ."

Completely at a loss for words, she could only stare at him and the sensual curve of his lips. God, if she could only taste them—just once! Would she ever be able to let go?

"I think we better head home or we'll never make it back here in time for tomorrow's lecture. I know I have a few things to prepare. I'm sure you could use some sleep."

"Yeah," she nodded her head as she continued to watch him, almost in a daze. "Sleep."

He lifted her hand until he had it at his mouth, then he tenderly kissed her knuckles before backing away from her and going back to his side of the car. He waited for her to get inside her own vehicle and when she remained standing there, staring at him, he chuckled at her.

"Sara? Maybe you should get in the car so you can go home now. I'm not going to leave until I'm sure you're safely on your way."

"Oh," she said quietly then seemed to shake herself out of her hypnosis. "Oh! Yes! Goodnight then!" She unlocked her door and got inside, started her car and gave him a wave before pulling away. She wasn't sure how she got home that night. Her thoughts were consumed with him.

Today, though, she knew she wasn't going to stand idly and let her chances pass her by. And she certainly wasn't going to leave him at the mercy of Shannon, Tiffany and Kimberly. Just the thought of them collectively advancing on him like the wolves they are, sent her temper soaring. Little bitches! Although she doubted very much that they were any competition, simply because he didn't seem the type to be interested in cheerleader trash, she was going to be close by to make sure.

She took a little extra care when she got ready this morning, added a little bit of mascara, a little lip gloss, dressed in a similar fashion as the day before, but this time the tank top was a little larger and instead of worn shorts, she was wearing a denim skirt that came midway to her knee—not terribly short, but not very long either. She rummaged through her closet and came up with a pair of 4-inch heeled sandals then thought better of it. He was only a couple of inches taller than her—if she added four inches, he might not like that. A lot of men preferred being taller than the women they were with. She didn't want to risk offending him, so she went for the 3-inch heels instead. She started to leave, but glanced in her full length mirror. Something was missing. She thought a moment then added a bracelet that dangled at her slim wrist. Okay, that should do it.

She parked in the lot, noting that his car was already there, and hurried across the lawn to the front of the building. She was just rushing up the front steps when she saw Shannon and her entourage walking though the hall ahead of her.

"Good God," Tiffany sighed. "He's so goddamned sexy, I don't care how boring he is! I'd let him talk about anything he wanted as long as he was doing it on top of me!"

"Those eyes! And that curly hair!" Kimberly added. "Just looking at him makes me wet. I'd invite him in to my bed in an instant!"

"Yes, girls," Shannon told them. "You both can back off. He's mine! Unless," she added as she bit her lip with uncertainty. "he "does" prefer more than just one of us at a time."

"Well, you can just keep him to yourself then," Kimberly told her. "I'm not into threesomes, no matter how hot the guy is!"

"Tiff?" Shannon asked and simply received a giggle and a shrug.

Sara slowly followed them down the hall then allowed them to enter the room ahead of her. She watched through the window as Grissom looked up at the three girls then glanced back at the door. His smile curved his lips as he saw Sara standing there. She took a deep breath and entered. He was wearing a jacket over a dress shirt with loose-fitting slacks, but she knew what he was hiding beneath the "absent-minded-professor" clothing. She got a taste of that last night when he wore his jeans. If the girls were this interested now, they'd absolutely kill one another if they saw him as Sara did last night.

"Miss Sidle," Grissom addressed her as she walked in front of his desk. "Would you mind assisting me today?"

"Assisting you?" She raised her eyebrow as she looked at him.

"Yes, please. You can have a seat at the desk. I'll let you know what to do when the time is right."

She gave him a small smile and moved behind the desk, then pulled the chair back and took a seat. She remained pulled back somewhat as she crossed her legs and watched him going through his notes. She couldn't wait until this session was over.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jesus Christ! Grissom thought as he made his way inside his hotel room that first night. He had just driven home from dropping a lovely young woman off at her car. He had kissed her hand. He had wiped some butter from her face and licked it off his finger. Jesus! He wasn't like that. He was no virgin, but he definitely was not well versed in the art of seduction. Any one he had been with in the past had been eager enough, but he had never been so eager as to actually "lick" her on their first date. Just the memory of it sent a jolt through him, straight to his spine. He walked across the living room area and dropped onto his bed, face down and nearly injured himself at the contact of his erection as it pressed into the mattress. He remained on his stomach, blankly staring at the wall as he remembered how she had took his hand on occasion and guided him where she wanted to go. And he didn't argue. He was beginning to think he'd follow her anywhere she wanted. Well, that's got to come to an end! His mind went to how she walked next to him back to his car and the way she kept glancing over at him. Each time she smiled that megawatt smile he felt a combination of his heart fluttering and his penis twitching! God, what a romantic devil! He thought of the drive back to her car and how his eyes kept wandering down to where the light from the console illuminated her long legs. Jesus! He wanted nothing more than to pull over and grab onto those mile-long limbs and wrap them around him as he would make her scream with satisfaction.

Stop it! He said to himself as he turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. This is absolutely useless! He's going home in three days. He'll never see her again. He's got to get her out of his mind! He grabbed the remote control to the television and turned it on, flicking through the stations without really seeing what was on them. His mind wandered to how her hand felt when he pulled it up to kiss it, and how it tasted beneath his tongue as he licked his lips after the kiss.

Dammit! He practically jumped off the bed and went into the bathroom where he turned on the shower. This is doing him no good! A cold shower—yeah—that would do the trick. Man, he hadn't had to resort to a cold shower in. . .fifteen years, surely. No one had ever made him as crazy as this on such short notice. He started to remove his clothing. He was going to be fine. All he needed was to get in the shower and think about other things.

He stepped under the blast and his breath caught in his throat as he practically jumped back out of it. The hell with that! He wasn't insane! A "warm" shower would suffice. Okay, now, warm water, spraying down on his body, and he would think about other things. Maggots! That's it. Think about a maggot-infested body that had been in a barrel for two days! That will do it! Maggots! Maggots! She knew what maggots were when those three feeble-minded females didn't have a clue. Sara knew. Because Sara's brain is so keen, so able to keep up with his! This is still okay, thinking about Sara, but thinking about her brain and how smart she is. No problem. I can handle that. Smart, yes, very. Smart and funny. He smiled as he remembered her patting her stray crab on her plate and telling it to stay there. She was so goddamned adorable! And when she laughed, it brightened the whole night! And when she really laughed, it would make her breasts move with each breath she would take, and it would draw attention to the slimness of her waist and the way those shorts clung to her perfect ass and how if he really, really wanted to, he could just reach up inside the pant leg and feel how wet she could become if he wanted her to and how he could drape those long legs over his shoulders and show her. . .

Damn. He hung his head in defeat. Didn't work. He looked down at the erection that was standing at full attention. Think. Think. Nothing's coming to mind other than the creaminess of Sara's thighs. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel. He wrapped it around his waist and went to the liquor cabinet in the living room area. He rarely ever touched this when traveling, but tonight—he needed it. He turned the channel on the television until Jim Varney appeared in "Ernest Scared Stupid" and he started drinking the scotch. The more he watched it, the more he drank and the more he calmed down. He could do this.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

His head was aching. He really didn't feel like doing this lecture, but he had to. He tried to gather his thoughts as he prepared for the session, going over notes, organizing index cards, preparing the slides in the projector. As each student entered and added their voices to the gathering crowd, he felt more and more irritable. Then he heard those three chirping birds enter and their giggles sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. He swore to God! Just one provocative insinuation and he was going to call a spade a spade and tell them to go home and grow the hell up and go hump the first immobile thing they can come across—just so it isn't him!

And then he saw her through the door's window, looking a little unsure of herself as she watched the three sub-humans entering ahead of her. No! Don't look like that! God! Can't you see how superior you are to them? Please, get in here and save me from a mundane series of lectures. Just knowing you're in here will ease the pain in my head; pain, he might add, that he had because he had to drink himself into a stupor so he would remain a good Catholic boy and not jack off while fantasizing about her sitting on his. . . Okay! Enough of that!

Come on, Sara, get your luscious butt in here. Help me make it through the next two hours. Oh Jeez, she's wearing a skirt—with heels. Fuck! If those legs looked appetizing in sneakers, then he could drop to his knees and beg her for admittance in heels! This is going to be harder than he thought. His first instinct was to have her sitting next to him, behind the desk, that way he wouldn't be staring at her in the front row, directly in front of him. Yep, that's it. Behind the desk.

"Miss Sidle," Grissom addressed her as she walked in front of his desk. "Would you mind assisting me today?"

"Assisting you?" She raised her eyebrow as she looked at him.

"Yes, please. You can have a seat at the desk. I'll let you know what to do when the time is right."

She gave him a small smile and moved behind the desk, then pulled the chair back and took the seat. She remained pulled back somewhat as she crossed her legs and he was granted a spectacular view of those magnificent limbs. He couldn't stop his gaze from repeatedly wandering to the show before him. Damn! He couldn't wait until this session was over.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Sara, could you gather my things out here?" Grissom asked Sara as the classroom was beginning to empty. "I've got some things I need to attend to in Professor Dayton's office. I'll be out shortly. Please wait for me."

"Dr. Grissom!" Shannon called after him as she rushed up to the podium.

"Yes, Shannon," he sighed as he looked up at her.

"I had a question about number . . ."

"Ask Sara, she had all the answers correct. I'm sure she'll explain what you need to know," he told her then disappeared inside of the professor's office who usually occupied this lecture hall.

"I'm sure she does. . ." Shannon seethed.

"Does what?" Kimberly asked as she came up behind her.

"Have all the answers correct!"

Shannon turned and glared at Sara then stormed out of the door. Within seconds she was left alone in the room as she finished gathering Grissom's belongings. Soon he came back to join her.

"Thank you," he told her as he picked up the things he needed to carry out with him. "I wasn't up to handling her today. My head is a bit fuzzy after last night."

"Last night?" She looked at him. "We only had two or three beers."

"Oh, I meant after I got back to the hotel. I guess I needed a shot or two to get to sleep. I paid for it this morning and today."

"I guess you aren't up to going out to sightsee then," she asked with disappointment.

"If you give me time to go home and change again, I'll pop some Tylenol, and I'll be ready to go."

She smiled and started walking with him to his car but paused when she noticed he was lagging behind a step or two. "Dr. Grissom? Are you okay?"

"Just call me Gris or Grissom. Everyone does. And yeah," he raised his gaze from the picture she was presenting as she walked ahead of him. "I'm fine now."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tonight the drinking started a little earlier and a little heavier. Grissom's way of thinking was, if it handled the problem last night—I'll start early and not have to face the problem at all tonight. That was his first mistake. They started with a late lunch of Italian which was accompanied heavily by red wine. Sara then took him on a tour of the city, ending with another short photo session in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. After stowing the pictures in the car, they both decided that a good seafood dinner was in order—or maybe Italian again—they weren't sure. So, at the first restaurant they came to they walked inside and ordered their dinner of quarter-pounders, sides of fries and mugs of beer. And if those mugs of beer didn't seem to be enough, then what did it matter that they each had two more before starting out again. This time, Sara took him into a club that was blasting music and flashing lights while the alcohol flowed steadily.

"Dance with me," she yelled above the music as she stood next to where he was seated at the bar.

"I'm not much of a dancer," he yelled back. "Especially this kind of music. But go on. Feel free."

"No," she smiled at him. "I can't leave you here all alone."

"Go on. I'm a big boy and I'm not going anywhere. I won't get lost."

"Alright," she said somewhat reluctantly then after a second went out to the dance floor where she was soon accompanied by a tall dark-haired man wearing jeans and a tank top.

Grissom watched as they danced together and Sara bumped and grinded with the man, never actually coming in complete contact with him, but positioning her body at angles that made Grissom's mouth go dry. He clutched onto his glass of scotch as he watched how she would sway in a manner that only convinced him further that she would be able to do remarkable things inside the bedroom. Then when she turned around and was looking at him as she was doing those amazing things with her body, he thought for sure everyone in the joint could see the hard-on that was straining against his jeans. He got to his feet, hoping to provide more room for the erection that was now throbbing but she seemed to pick up on his discomfort and let her eyes drop over his body, caressing it with her eyes. Grissom glanced at his watch: ten-thirty; not too early to call it a night and make his escape back to the sanctity of his hotel suite. Hopefully, his alcohol intake will make it possible for him to remain a "good Catholic boy" again tonight. But damn, she was looking fine. He ordered another drink and downed it quickly before putting the glass on the bar and moving across the dance floor until he was standing directly in front of her and her partner graciously took his leave.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sara watched Grissom start walking toward her. She hadn't really taken her eyes off of him all night. On occasion she would turn to hear what the man was saying that she danced with, but she would always look back to Grissom. He looked so damned good in his jeans and light tan button-down shirt that he had opened to mid-chest that she could have climbed right inside of the shirt with him. She had watched him downing the drinks rather rapidly and wondered if it would affect him to the point of becoming helpless—she knew if she drank that much, it certainly would render her that way.

"I was wondering. . ." He began as he stepped in front of her, but Sara kept dancing as she kept her eyes on him.

"Dance with me," she coaxed as she moved her hips from side to side.

"I don't. . ."

"Tonight you do," she said and put her hands on his waist and started moving him in time with Sting singing "Every Breath You Take." "Come on, this is a slow one."

She watched his eyes as he looked at her. His hands glided up from where her hands rested on his hips, up over her arms until they were at her neck. God, but she could get lost in those blue eyes! She didn't think she had ever seen a set of eyes to compare with them. Her tongue slid between her lips and moistened them then ever so slowly, she tilted her head until her lips met his forearm and she let her tongue flick out and taste his skin. It was salty and completely heavenly.

"You're teasing," he smiled at her. "You shouldn't tease, Sara. It could get you into trouble."

She smiled back at him as her fingers moved over the cloth of his shirt until they hooked into his belt, and tugged on him. "I think we should take our dance outside onto the deck."

"You're familiar with this place? You knew there was a deck?"

"Not really familiar. My last dance partner tried to get me to go outside with him. I saw it when he suggested it."

"And just what would your dance partner's advantage be if you were to go out onto the deck with him, Sara Sidle?"

"Depends on the dance partner, doesn't it?"

She tilted her head as she watched him then without warning he stepped even closer to her and dropped his head until his lips and tongue met the skin of her neck. She gasped upon its contact, feeling as if she had been struck in the mid-section with a bolt of electric lightning. She was lost in the sensation as she moved her hands to the soft curls of his hair and guided his kiss to her lips. Jesus! But he kissed as well as she knew he would! Slow and languid, he slid his tongue over her lips, then slid between them and enticed her tongue to mate with his. He took his time as his thumb began stroking her jaw line where it met her throat. Ever so slowly, he pulled his head back and licked his lips as he looked at her through half-lidded eyes then let his them drop to watch how her breasts were rising and falling as she tried to regain control of her breathing.

"I don't think I want to dance anymore," he murmured as he took her hand and turned toward the entrance to the building.

"You're. . .what?" She called over the music to him as he pulled her along.

"I said we're going now." He paused at the doorway to allow another couple to enter in front of them then started tugging her through the doorway and onto the street.

"Where are we going?" She called to him again as he started down the neon street. He moved into the darkness of an adjoining alley and then on to where he had parked his car. He opened the passenger's door for her and indicated she should get inside. "I said—where are we going?"

She stood before him with her arms crossed over her chest, stopping him abruptly as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry. I thought. . ."

"You thought what?" She nearly stomped her foot with anger. "That you could kiss me like that. . .look at me like that. . .and then just go home as if nothing occurred? I think "you're" the tease here, Grissom! I don't like playing mind games like this!"

His smile slowly crossed his lips and she realized she misunderstood his reasons for leaving. Instead of assisting her into the front seat, he put his hands on her hips and pressed her back against the back door of the car so quickly she gasped as she hit the window.

"Ahhh, neither do I," he said a millisecond before his lips settled on hers again, this time as his tongue slid across her lips, she parted them and he immediately pressed inside.

She thought she had died and gone to heaven as her tongue slid over his and she slowly began to suck at him. She felt him move his body up between her legs and roll his hips against her. His hands moved down to her legs and inched her denim skirt up then she assisted him with a simple hop as he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He took two steps to the side as he went to the trunk of the car and sat her on its edge, allowing the darkness to envelop them more fully. His lips moved down her cheek, along her jaw line and on to her neck as his hands found the straps to her tank top and pulled it over her arms and he followed the path of skin he was exposing until he moaned deeply and pressed his hunger against the firm masses of breast that he found. He used his one hand to guide her nipple into his mouth as his other hand moved between their bodies, fingers sliding up her thigh until it came in contact with the satin of panties. He suddenly bucked against her other thigh and he ground against her as his fingertips skimmed over the damp cloth again. She moaned with anticipation as she clutched onto his shirt and pulled at him.

"Well, well. . ." came the voice of someone who had approached from the front of the car. "If it isn't our old-maid wallflower from school."

Sara jerked beneath Grissom and started to straighten as she covered herself by pulling her top back into place. It took Grissom a moment or two longer to straighten and release Sara's legs, allowing them to drop from around him. He looked questioningly at Sara a moment longer.

"Who wouldda thought she was a hooker in disguise!" Said another voice and Sara recognized Tiffany as she approached with Shannon.

"Oh—shit!" said Kimberly. "Look who she's with!"

Grissom slowly wiped the moisture from his mouth as he kept his eyes on Sara then slowly turned to look at his three problem-children from class.

"Dr. Grissom!" Shannon eyed him from the top of his ruffled hair, down over his shirt that was askew and then on to the jeans that still had a rather impressive tent in them. Her eyes became amused when she saw his arousal and an instant of hope entered her them as she quickly looked back up at him. "It looks like you're enjoying the evening. Tell me, is there anything I can do to make it better?"

Grissom grabbed onto the wrist that approached him in an attempt to run her finger along the denim of his pants and he stepped more in front of Sara to block the girls' view of her.

"You could make my evening just about perfect if you'd turn around and take yourself and your two acquaintances out of here and leave me and my friend alone."

"Is that what you call her?" Shannon laughed. "A. . .friend? Humping in an alley behind a bar? That's hardly what you'd call a . . .friend. But, maybe Professor Eldridge would be interested in knowing what kind of "friends" you keep company with, and just where you do it. I'm sure he'd find it so interesting that he'd want to share that information with your friend's supervisor—you know—the one who was so intent on sending her to your lecture in the first place."

"Ya know. . .I don't give a damn what you decide to do, but I will warn you, ladies, that I better not hear a word about this woman. You better understand that if anything gets back to Miss Sidle's superiors because of you, I'll see that there's more than failing grades going into your records. I'll raise charges of sexual misconduct against the three of you so quickly you won't know what hit you, but I guarantee you'll know what it is for the rest of your careers as cocktail waitresses because that's the best you'll be able to accomplish by the time I'm through with you."

"You can't do that!" Shannon sneered at him but Tiffany put her hand on her arm.

"I'm not willing to risk it to find out." She looked at Kimberly. "I don't know about you, but I'm not getting mixed up in her little battle anymore. I'm going back to the dorm."

"Come on, Shannon. She's right. Just let it alone. If they investigate this, we'll be thrown out of school!"

Shannon looked at her two friends then back at Grissom and after seeing that he wasn't about to give an inch, she turned around and left the alley. Grissom turned around and put his hands on Sara's waist as he looked at her with apology written on his face.

"I'm sorry I put you through that. I should have used some more self-control."

"It's okay," she tried to reassure him. "I didn't help matters. It wasn't as if you did this all on your own."

He smiled the sexiest smile she had ever seen then leaned in and kissed her tenderly before pulling back to look at her again. "Would you mind terribly if we went back to my hotel right now? And, would you mind driving? I think my limit is catching up to me."

Sara gave him a little nod and he helped her to her feet again but when he attempted to walk her around to the driver's side, she suggested he simply get in the passenger's seat and get on their way. She started the car and pulled out of the alley, watching traffic as she made her way down the busy street, then as the flashing lights dimmed behind them she glanced over at her passenger who was watching her closely. She felt herself tremble clear to her toes at the expression in his glorious eyes.

"Would you have really gone through with it?" She asked him.

"I still intend to go through with it." He turned his body toward her and leaned down to place a kiss on her bare shoulder. "I hope you aren't having reservations."

"No—I meant. . .would you have really done something to tarnish their records?"

"Whose records?" He asked absently as his hand slid onto her thigh as his kiss moved closer to her neck.

"Shannon and her friends," Sara said through a shaky voice.

"I'll crush them like the filth they are if they say one derogatory syllable about you, my dear." His hand slid up her thigh a bit higher and disappeared beneath her skirt, making her grab onto it quickly in a simple attempt to keep them from getting into a traffic accident. Upon her movement, he pulled his head up and looked at her. "Jesus, but you should be named Aphrodite after the Greek goddess of love and beauty. You're features should be cut in marble and cherished."

She smiled at him before looking back at the road. "You must have drunk so much that it's affecting your vision, Grissom."

"I haven't seen things this clearly in years." He impatiently turned his gaze toward the front of the car. "Aren't we getting close to the hotel yet?"

"We're getting there," she smiled indulgently and pulled his hand back from beneath her skirt again. She knew she was pretty adept at driving but with what he had in mind, she'd be driving up a telephone pole in no time.

"Alright," he sighed as he turned back in his seat and settled against the upholstery, evidently giving in to her desire to return to his hotel in one piece.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It only took about ten minutes until she parked. By the time she got to the front of the car he was there, taking her hand, and rushing with her toward the building. He paused when he clearly couldn't remember which door was his so she took his card and went to his room. Her intentions were to close the door and put the card on the small table just inside but as she reached toward the table, she was pushed back against the wall. She vaguely heard the door closing next to her as Grissom's mouth came down against hers. Her mouth opened in surprise as he was already pressing himself against her and his tongue slid between her teeth, coaxing her, enticing her to respond. Her hands immediately went to the back of his neck, sliding up through the curls at the back of his head as he kiss moved lower, along her jaw line and on to her neck. He tried to push the straps of her tank top down over her shoulders as his kiss moved along her collar bone.

"No," she breathed, but he didn't seem to hear her, so she simply moved her hands to the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up between them and over her head.

Her bra was released in an instant and he pushed her back against the wall a second time as he went straight for her breasts, laving them with his attention as he moaned his desire for her. Sara thought she was going to explode as she held him to her, more out of fear that the mere sight of this gorgeous man worshipping her body was going to make her knees buckle and she would slide to the floor. She could feel him everywhere he was touching her and when he released her right breast and started to inch her skirt up her legs she started to shake. He lowered himself to his knees as his mouth moved hot kisses down over her tummy. He looked up at her with eyes that were practically glowing with their blueness and she found her breath a difficult thing to control. With one raise of his eyebrow, she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Hold onto this, darling," he murmured as he lifted her skirt up over her hips. She couldn't refuse—how could she? His expression was so erotic that she thought for sure she was going to die and simply melt right outside of her body at any second. She continued to watch him as his gaze moved to the white panties she was wearing and noticed how his lips turned upward slightly at the sight of them. He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the lace at the front of them, then slowly slid them down over her hips and thighs until he stopped at her knees. Another chaste kiss to the curls he found there before his hands moved up her thighs and pressed them slightly apart.

This time when he approached her, there was nothing chaste about it. His fingers opened her and his tongue soon followed; the suddenness of it making her cry out and begin to slide down the wall. He reacted quickly by turning with her until he pressed her back onto the small table just next to the door. This time he moved more quickly as he pulled her panties the remainder of the way down her legs and off of them. He looked at her heeled feet as if in indecision then let his eyes quickly travel back up her legs and within a split second he was back between them, sucking, licking and nibbling at her very core. She leaned back slightly so she could hold onto the edge of the table to keep herself from falling off of it, and he pulled her closer to its edge. When he couldn't gain the access he wished for, he lifted her leg over his shoulder, gently bit her thigh, then went back to his exotic lovemaking. Her moans filled the apartment and soon she was calling out for more, begging him to never stop, praising the name "Grissim" to the gods with her head flung back as she held herself up with only one hand now and her other moved to his head and he began thrusting two fingers inside of her. When she came, she screamed his name, convulsing around his fingers and under his mouth. She couldn't seem to find any energy when she finally opened her eyes but the sight of him still between her legs as he gently ran his tongue over her, almost as if tenderly caressing her back to normalcy.

But there was no coming back as he looked up at her and got to his feet. The sight of his opened jeans sent her senses reeling. She didn't know when he had opened them, but clearly could understand that they had become so uncomfortable for him as he feasted on her that he had to find the space he needed. All of a sudden her energy level surged and she was on her knees before him, yanking his jeans down and pulling his boxers with them. The size of him amazed her but she was consumed with the need to have him and he didn't seem to be in any mood to object. She grabbed onto his hips as he held himself with one hand and put his other on the back of her head. She took him between her lips and heard him growl with fierce need. Jesus! She just knew he would taste as good as he looks! She hesitated only a moment in fear that she couldn't satisfy him as her experience in this department was rather slim—okay—she had never given a blow-job before! But her intense desire to please him as well as her own need to do this dissolved any misgivings she may have had. She took as much of him as she could and instinct took over as she made love to him this way. If her inexperience showed, she wasn't aware of it as the sounds coming from his mouth and the direction of his hands on her head only urged her on. Her hands investigated his hips and buttocks and she gloried in them but when she felt him pulling her back she was concerned again that she was doing something wrong. He pulled her up to her feet as he searched the area until he found what he was looking for and quickly pushed her into the small kitchenette where he leaned her on the table and reached for her leg. She looked at him through concerned eyes and he gave her a quick glance before conveying his intentions.

"God, Sara! I need to fuck—now!" He pulled her leg up around his waist as he guided himself to her apex.

"I thought—I thought you weren't enjoying. . ."

He gave a low, throaty chuckle and then a deep groan as he slowly pressed his girth inside of her. "Hmmmm, Sara, don't ever imagine that. You are exquisite! Your innocence is intoxicating. But right now, I need to be right here."

She gulped back her pain as his size invaded her, her eyes watering at the sensation of being stretched to the point of nearly splitting, but she didn't want him to witness this as she put her arms around his neck and hugged him to her. He leaned her back onto the kitchen table as his mouth latched onto her throat again and slowly her tightness allowed him the movement he needed and he was sliding in and out of her. He seemed to know that he was too big for her as he tried to remain calm about this, but soon his movements were becoming jerky and erratic, proving to her that he needed to complete his act. She raised her hips to meet his in an open invitation to increase his speed and power and soon, the friction of his enlarged member pounding against her g-spot was sending her into another spiraling climax. This time she swore she saw stars as she held him to her and she vaguely heard him panting in her ear until his weight came down fully on top of her.

What she expected to be a moment of recuperation turned out to be anything but as he pulled from her and reached down to the waistband of her skirt. His fingers swiftly opened the button and zipper and pulled it down over her hips and dropped it onto the floor. Her sandals caught his eyes next and he started to slip them off her feet but stopped.

"No—we may need these."

Sara looked at him through huge eyes as he reached for her hands and pulled her up from the table. "Dr. Grissom?"

"Gil, my dear. Call me Gil."

He pulled her onto her feet and met her lips with his once more, but instead of reaching for her, he was quickly removing his shirt and tossing it onto the floor. His tongue thrust into her mouth and she grabbed onto anything to find just to keep her balance on her heeled sandals. The fact that she grabbed onto his hips seemed to please him immensely as he growled his approval but she scarcely had time to decipher anything else as his hands were turning her then grabbing onto her slender hips as he moved up behind her. She felt his mouth move to her shoulder as he started kissing it, then she felt his erection pressing against the round globes of her backside.

"Gil?" She breathed in confusion. She wasn't an expert in the art of lovemaking, but she knew it was extremely rare for a man to recover from an orgasm then immediately go into a full-fledged erection again so soon.

"Hmm?" His hands slid around her, one sliding up over her stomach until he reached her breast and the other down between the curls where he slowly and gently began stroking her. "Don't be frightened, I won't hurt you. I promise. I just can't seem to get enough of you." He kept his chest against her back as he leaned forward and pressed her against the tabletop then stood behind her again. He slid his hands down over her back in such a gentle caress that she shivered. Back and forth, over her shoulders, her back, her waist, hips, buttocks and thighs. "My pristine angel, you were made to be worshipped."

She remained against the table, not knowing what to expect until she felt him step closer and part her legs. His intrusion was slow and she heard him grunt with the effort to keep himself from ramming inside of her. Once inside, he leaned down on top of her again and let his tongue touch the rim of her ear.

"Gil?" She whispered as she closed her eyes with the pleasure she was feeling at simply having him inside of her, stretching her in this new position.

"Am I hurting you, darling?" He whispered back.

She gave him a negative shake of her head and reached to her shoulder where she felt his fingers and he entwined them. "It's. . .glorious."

His hips began to move against her, taking his time as he gyrated until she could feel the wetness at her opening. When his whispered endearments started coming faster, he lifted himself into a standing position behind her and still held onto her shoulder with one hand while grabbing onto her hip with his other and his strokes became more powerful and faster. She felt herself go into intense spasms and still he continued, sending her over one ridge and directly over another before she heard his growl that seemed to reverberate off the walls of the small hotel suite and she could feel him releasing himself within her.

"Sara!" He implored her through a raspy voice. "Come with me!"

She was still trying to recover when she felt him lifting her from the table and pulling her along with him. He kicked off his shoes as he went into the bedroom area, then after lowering her onto the bed, he pushed his jeans and boxers completely off his legs and immediately joined her as he crawled on top of her. She had enough time to send a quick glance to his mid-region section and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that this time, he wasn't fully enlarged, then he was holding onto her face as he rolled with her until they were both on their sides and he was kissing her again. He reached for her leg and pulled it up over his waist and lowered his lips to take one of her nipples inside his mouth, but this time she pulled his head back up until he was looking at her through lazy eyes; eyes that didn't look quite right.

"Gil. . .Dr. Grissom. . .wait." He smiled at her and started to roll into her again but when he had her on her back and he tried to place his lips on hers, she turned her head. "Dr. Grissom?"

"I thought I told you to call me Gil."

"Gil. . .is this. . .normal? Do you always. . ."

"Always what?" His hand slid up her side as if he were petting a cat. "Make love to beautiful women? Not always. They don't always let me. Terri hasn't let me yet."

"Terri?"

"Mmm, Dr. Miller." He lowered his head to kiss her cheek again. "I don't want to talk about Terri. I want to make love to you again."

"That "wasn't" what I was talking about!" Sara said stiffly, bringing his eyes back to hers. "I was talking about your ability to "perform" so many times and so quickly."

"No. No woman's ever affected me like you do, Sara. I never wanted a woman as much as I want you tonight."

"I don't think it's "me" that's affecting you." Sara pushed him until he was on his back and as she looked at him, she saw how his eyes were getting drowsier and drowsier. "You better sleep it off and then go home to "Terri" in Las Vegas."

"Don't go." He reached for her but she slid out of the bed and when she looked back at him she saw how his eyes were slowly closing. She quickly grabbed up her clothing and redressed, giving him only one more glance over her shoulder to see him fast asleep, then she called a cab and left him alone inside to sleep off the effects of whatever drug someone had given him at the bar.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Sara stared out of the window the whole way back to her apartment. She really couldn't blame him for behaving the way he did. She was almost certain that he had been drugged at the bar and if her suspicions were correct, it was the three whores from hell who did it. She hadn't been watching him the whole time, so for all she knew, he could have been having a discussion with them while she was on the dance floor, dancing. But it didn't stop the stab of pain that went through her when she realized it wasn't really "her" that he was so excited about and wanted so badly. It was the effects of the drug. And on top of that, add that he had a relationship back in Vegas, didn't make her feel any better.

As she stared out of the window, many things weighed heavily on her mind, not the least of which was the fact that she had had unprotected sex with a man who was going to leave in a matter of days and now that she knew he was in a relationship with "Terri Miller," she doubted he would ever come back to San Francisco.

She slowly walked into her apartment and went toward her shower, stripping off her clothing as she went but once inside the well-lit room, she got her first good glance at her legs and the red smear that ran down her thighs. Her embarrassment was immense. Did she actually get her period while having sex with Dr. Grissom? But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she wasn't due for her period for another two weeks. No, this wasn't her period. She realized it was the fact that she was a near-virgin and he was immense in size. He must have ripped and torn her and neither was aware of it. Still, her embarrassment turned her cheeks crimson. As she showered, she realized she wasn't going to return to Grissom's lectures. It would do neither of them any good to pursue this while he was in love with another woman. The only problem with that was that even now, she yearned to see him, to be with him, and she suspected that her heart was going to tear in two because she had already fallen in love with him. She finished her shower and went to bed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Grissom's head was ready to explode. Damn! What did he drink last night? What did he "do" last night? He slowly turned onto his back and ran his hand up over his chest, quickly noting that it was bare. He squinted against the bright sunlight pouring in through the window and looked at the rest of his body. Bare. . .completely bare. Wait a minute. . .he wasn't in the habit of sleeping completely nude. . .especially when sleeping alone. That meant only one thing. He hadn't slept alone. He snapped his head around the room for any signs of another person, finding nothing to suggest anyone had been there. He tried to think. He remembered going out with Sara. They had started drinking early, but had maintained their control for the first part of the evening. Then he went into a bar with her, a dance floor came to mind, and he recalled watching Sara with another man on the dance floor. Then that was it. No. . .wait. . .there was someone else. . .outside. . .Oh God! The three girls from his lectures. He remembered being with them. Then he remembered nothing else. He didn't know how he got home or how he got to bed. He slowly maneuvered himself until he was sitting on the edge of the mattress with his head in his hands and that was when he noticed the stains on his bed. Oh no, he thought with despair. Don't tell me I brought one of those three kids home and . . .and. . .ah, Jeez, a frickin' virgin yet! Now, which one was it? He felt sick and tumbled to the bathroom where he splashed cold water on his face then looked at himself in the mirror. Jesus, what had he done?

He looked at the clock and saw that he was already late, having missed most of his first lecture of the day. If he hurried, he could make it to his second and hopefully run into Sara and explain what had happened and beg her forgiveness. He didn't even know if she had gotten home safely after she left the bar.

He hadn't been nervous before a lecture for years. Butterflies that had long been forgotten returned to his stomach as he watched the usual people filling the room. He wanted Sara there with him so badly it hurt. He somehow felt that even if he had messed up their chance for a relationship, she was such a good person that she'd help him through this and stand by his side. But she didn't come and that made him even more concerned that perhaps something had happened after he left her at the bar.

Tiffany and Kimberly were the last to enter the room, both looking at Grissom as if he were a two-headed beast and he could only imagine what they knew about the previous night. He began his lecture but his mind wandered and he stumbled several times in his speech. He looked often out the window in hopes of seeing Sara rushing across the lawn, or out the door, expecting to see her coming inside the room. Even if she was late, it didn't matter—just so he got to see her and be near her. He needed her there to radiate some of her strength into him just by being in his presence.

Instead, he looked out and saw Shannon pacing back and forth and he realized that she must have been the one who he had taken home with him. He went back to his speech, hurrying it along as best he could until finally he was finished with ten minutes to spare.

"Kimberly—Tiffany—could you stay for a moment, please?" Grissom asked as he gathered his notes together. He looked up to see them warily approach him, holding back almost as if they were afraid if they got too close they would have to pay some forbidden price that he could only guess at.

"Look, Dr. Grissom, " Tiffany finally said after the last student exited the room and she glanced out nervously to see Shannon waiting impatiently for her. "I have to apologize for what happened last night. Kim and I promise, we'll never act so irresponsibly again if you'll only give us a second chance and forget anything happened."

Grissom looked at them a moment, trying to decipher their nervousness. "What, exactly are you talking about, girls?"

"Shannon!" Kimberly spit out. "It was all Shannon! We don't know what happened! She did it all on her own!"

"You don't know what happened?" He asked.

"We went home right away!" Kimberly was quick to hand over her friend to the wolves. "We didn't want to get into trouble. So if she did anything stupid after we left, it's her fault, not ours."

"So, you left her there."

"Well," Tiffany tried to explain. "what else were we supposed to do? She was in no mood to argue with us about going home. Not after. . .well, let's just say we knew her mind was focused completely on you and we didn't want to get in her way. So, we took off."

"Is that why she's standing out there?" Grissom gestured toward the girl outside the door. "Could you send her in and give us some privacy?"

He watched as Tiffany and Kimberly quickly left the room and closed the door. He could hear their muffled voices as they relayed the message to Shannon and after several moments, the door opened slowly and she entered, keeping her distance from him as she closed it behind her. He couldn't help but wonder just what he could have done that had frightened her so much.

"Dr. Grissom," Shannon swallowed. "Tiffany and Kim said you wanted to talk to me."

"I do, Shannon." He leaned against the desk as he watched her, seeing how she avoided his eyes. "I—um—just wanted to apologize for anything I may have done that was inappropriate last night. I'm not usually so. . ."

"It isn't your fault!" She said quickly as she took a step forward then stopped herself. "It was mine! I was being stupid! And. . .well. . .I regret it now—completely. Please, Dr. Grissom! Please don't let it get back to anyone. My father will absolutely kill me if he finds out what I've done! Please, can't you just forget anything happened? I'm so sorry!"

"Shannon," he began slowly, not wanting her to take the blame onto herself when he was the other half of the couple involved in the tryst. "I can't put the entire blame on you. You weren't the only one involved."

"But it was me—really—I started it all. I take full responsibility. Please, Dr. Grissom. . .can I go now? And can you just forget it ever happened?"

He watched her a moment longer then gave a slight nod and watched as she practically tripped over herself getting out the door.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sara had been sitting at her kitchen table for the past two hours, nursing a cup of coffee. She leaned her elbow on the tabletop and her head in her hand as she stared off into space. She should have gone to work but she hadn't changed schedules yet to alert them that she wouldn't be attending Grissom's last lecture. So, she watched the clock tick as her thoughts turned to the past few days. Never had she been swept off her feet as quickly or thoroughly as she had been by this man. She knew she would be better off at this point to simply allow him to leave and never see him or think of him again. The first part was going to be easier than the second. She couldn't get him off her mind. He was like a phantom that invaded her soul and she couldn't exorcize him. The fact that he made love to her so thoroughly made her doubt she could ever be with another man without comparing him to Grissom and it plagued her. She didn't know what to do with the rest of the day but certainly didn't feel like sitting around any longer indulging in self-pity. She would get dressed and go for a walk. Perhaps down by the bay where she had spent such quality time with Grissom. Yeah, that was getting him off your mind, she thought. But she couldn't seem to help it.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Grissom got out of his car and walked across the lot. He slowly approached the apartment building, not knowing what to expect. His behavior with Sara had been despicable and she had every right to never speak to him again. But he didn't want that. He wanted to leave on good terms with her. She had come to mean so much to him, and he was going to miss her terribly. He brought his hand up to knock on her door when it opened and she almost stepped out and bumped into him. Her eyes grew large as she looked at him.

"Grissom!" She gasped.

"Hello, Sara," he said quietly. "I know you have every right to be angry with me, but I'm hoping we can salvage our friendship. You've come to mean a lot to me while I've been here. I don't want to leave on bad terms."

"Bad terms?" She asked quietly. "I don't know how that can be avoided now, do you?"

"I'm so sorry for leaving you at that bar. It was inexcusable."

"Leaving me. . ."

"Please, Sara?" He took her hand in his. "Let's start over. We'll go for a walk along the bay. I'm taking an earlier flight than I had planned, and I'd hate to go home in the morning and think we couldn't still be friends."

"Friends," she said quietly as she looked down at his hand that was still holding onto hers. It was clear that he didn't remember what had happened—not that she really expected he would. And it was clear that he thought he had abandoned her for the evening. She looked up into his blue eyes that stared at her imploringly and she couldn't refuse him, just as she couldn't bring herself to make him aware of his behavior the night before. It wasn't as if it were his fault and if it had been up to him, he would have never compromised her if he was still harboring feelings for another woman back home. No, if she had to remain "just friends" with him so she could stay in contact with him, she'd grasp onto that. She had no choice in the matter, really. He held a firm grasp onto her heart, no matter how hard she tried to dislodge it. She was in love with him. "Of course we'll be friends."

He smiled affectionately at her as she stepped into the hallway and joined him. They both knew it would be the last time they would have together and they spent it in phases of being animated and talkative, and being sober and cerebral. It didn't matter. They both felt such completeness as they spent the rest of the night together that it was difficult to end it.

Finally by three AM he walked her to her door again and pulled her hand up to his lips. "I'll miss you, Sara Sidle."

"Of course you will," she teased although her heart wasn't into it. "I planned it that way."

"I'm sure you did." He gave her one of his most charming smiles. "I'm sure this won't be the end. You realize that, don't you?"

She looked at him with hope. "Yes. I do realize that."

"You're an excellent student, Sara. You're going to climb the ladder quickly. I have no doubt about that. Perhaps you'll stop by and see a fellow CSI on your way to the top? Las Vegas is only a short plane ride away."

"I'll be waiting for the call, Grissom."

He gave her another smile then bent down and kissed her cheek before turning and walking back toward his car. He knew it was better this way. He had survived his week in San Francisco without losing himself completely to the angel behind him. He was lucky, he thought, that he hadn't pursued the physical relationship with her that his body demanded. He could have never left her if he had. Now, he was faced with going home to a life of solitude. He had Catherine to spend time with, just as he could spend time with Warrick and Nick. They were his friends. And, if he wanted, he could go out occasionally with Terri, but that never got very far. So, he would go on with his life and have occasional glimpses of memory of a dark-haired beauty who had set his heart, mind and body on fire. She was unique and he knew he was lucky to escape without a broken heart. He sighed as he got onto the airplane the next day. Yes, he'd be better off if he actually just forgot about her. It would do him no good to keep dwelling on something that couldn't be. He had his work. That would keep him satisfied.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sara closed the door behind herself, separating her from Grissom as he walked back to his car that morning. She closed her eyes, knowing her heart was about to break. He said they'd be friends. She'd just have to have faith in that. She went back to work the day after he left and when she came home she had never felt lonelier. The first week passed and her hope began to fade that he would keep up with her. Her mind turned to other things as she started to watch her calendar, knowing the risk she had taken in not making him aware that they had shared unprotected sex, but when she realized he had no recollection of being with her, she couldn't bring herself to tell him.

She went to the pharmacy that day and purchased the little stick. She brought it home and took it into the bathroom and now was waiting the required time. In the meantime she went to her computer and opened email to find a surprise that made her heart burst with such happiness that she nearly cried when she saw the sender titled "GRISSOMG." She opened it before any of the others.

Sara,

It's been an eventful two weeks. I'm hoping things are well with you. I'm sure you're so busy solving cases that you've barely had time to think of me. I have, also, been quite busy. There was a tough case that needed me to call in an old friend. I don't know if I ever mentioned her to you. Her name is Terri Miller and she's amazing in her field. It took over a week, but with her help, we plowed through. Catherine, Nick and Warrick were glad to have me back to share in the work load. Jim was glad to have me back so he didn't have to listen to Catherine, Nick and Warrick complain about the work load anymore. And although I am also extremely happy to be back to the grindstone, I often think of you and our time together at the bay. Your aptitude and ability intrigued me as no one has in a long time. You are going to shine, Sara. I hope someday to see just how much. Please keep in touch.

Your friend,

Grissom

Sara smiled a little at his message. He was going to keep in touch, and although it was remote, it was enough to keep her going for now. She got up from her desk and went back to the bathroom to look at the stick that was waiting.


End file.
